Dear IHD Colleagues,
Below is our monthly IHD update outlining recent happenings in the Division. We look forward to receiving any feedback you may wish to share with us.
Showcasing Abt’s Community-based Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) Work
As part of the CORE Group Symposium “Ensuring Equity for NCDs in Women’s Health throughout the Life Course” in Washington, DC on October 17, Kate Greene and Dasha Migunov presented on the planned approach of Abt’s new NCD project HealthRise and the experience of Abt’s Private Sector Project for Women’s Health in integrating breast cancer screening and education with family planning outreach in Jordan. The roundtable format of the presentation enabled Kate and Dasha to field a number of questions and comments from participants, who expressed keen interest in Abt’s NCD efforts. Contact: dasha_migunov@abtassoc.com.
HealthRise Brings Together Stakeholders to Expand Access to NCD Care in India
In August, the HealthRise project held its first Country Technical Dialogue in New Delhi to learn from interventions across health sectors to help inform what can be done at the community level to respond to NCDs. India’s Deputy Commissioner for NCDs participated in the meeting, as did a number of leaders and practitioners representing the NCD, TB, health systems, and private sectors. HealthRise organized a follow-up District Technical Dialogue in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh in October and will facilitate another meeting in Udaipur, Rajasthan this month. HealthRise is a $17M partnership between Medtronic Philanthropy, Abt, and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, seeking to expand access to diabetes and cardiovascular disease care in Brazil, India, South Africa, and the U.S. Contact: natasha_sakolsky@abtassoc.com.
Abt SRBI and IHD Support Global Survey of the Impact of NCDs on Women
In collaboration with Arogya World and its partners, Abt SRBI led surveys of 10,000 women in 10 countries to gather the perspectives of women on NCDs. The surveys asked women about the financial burden of NCDs, their role as NCD caregivers, the impact of NCDs on their ability to work, their access to NCD testing, and their exposure to and concern about NCD risk factors. IHD provided background information and recommendations for the survey report, Insights from 10,000 Women on the Impact of NCDs. This effort aims to highlight the impact of NCDs on women and their families, and to use women’s voices to move governments to action. Contact: dasha_migunov@abtassoc.com.
The Buzz on AIRS Project and the Pan African Mosquito Control Association Conference (PAMCA)
AIRS joined mosquito researchers, vector control specialists, industry representatives, NGOs, students, policymakers, and educators from across Africa and beyond at the first PAMCA Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, October 6-8 to share ideas, collaborate, and explore innovative approaches to combat vector-borne diseases. AIRS staff from Bethesda, Ethiopia, Liberia, and Mali presented findings ranging from the impact of indoor residual spraying (IRS) on vector density and entomological inoculation rates to the susceptibility status of malaria-carrying mosquitoes to insecticides. Contact: dereje_dengela@abtassoc.com.
The Proof is in the Planning
To help transition to the new AIRS project, headquarter project staff gathered in Charlottesville, VA, for a three-day planning retreat, October 29-31. The retreat included brainstorming workshops on ways to make the project more cost-effective, environmentally compliant, and gender equitable, as well as how to expand community-based IRS and improve capacity of National Malaria Control Programs. Contact: laura_mccarty@abtassoc.com.
AIRS Lands at American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH)
AIRS participated at the 63rd Annual American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Conference November 2-6 in New Orleans presenting seven posters on topics ranging from innovations such as the Mobile Soak Pit to improve environmental compliance to increasing opportunities for women in IRS-supported programs. Contact: laura_mccarty@abtassoc.com.
Swaziland Nurses Council (SNC) Opens New Office
Cognizant of SNC’s pivotal role in strengthening health care delivery, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the HFG project, has been supporting this important organization. As the SNC has expanded activities to fulfill its mandate, it has required more space to effectively conduct its work. PEPFAR supported the procurement of a pre-fabricated trailer to meet SNC’s need for adequate office space and meeting facilities; the opening ceremony of the venue was held recently. Contact: ann_lion@abtassoc.com.
Bridging the Gap between Ministries of Health and Ministries of Finance
In many countries, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) determine which health services are delivered, when, where, and for whom. While MOHs are responsible for setting national health policy and managing the day-to-day delivery of public health services, they are dependent upon MOFs for establishing funding levels and releasing funds to finance MOH operations. But the two institutions lack common language, systems, priorities, and incentives. HFG’s new Toolkit for Ministries of Health to Work More Effectively with Ministries of Finance, presents four different tools to help MOH staff better manage their resources and communicate more effectively with their MOF counterparts. Contact: alexandra_hulme@abtassoc.com.
SHOPS Co-Sponsors Global Social Franchising Conference in the Philippines
Clinical social franchising is a model for organizing networks of private providers to deliver quality services under a common brand. The SHOPS project studies social franchising models, and through SHOPS partner, Marie Stopes International, supports social franchising globally. SHOPS co-sponsored a Global Conference on Social Franchising for Health in Cebu, Philippines on October 22-24. The conference allowed franchise managers, donors, and government officials to share knowledge and best practices on health financing, measuring performance, strengthening ties with the public sector, and using technology to meet public health and business goals. In attendance were Diana Silimperi and Susan Mitchell. Contact: susan mitchell@abtassoc.com.
PATHS2 Continues to Help Save the Lives of Women and Children
Abt’s PATHS2 Programme in Nigeria received the score of A+ during the project’s annual review process for the second year in a row. The evaluation team remarked that “The good momentum that has been noted in the past two reviews has been sustained in Year 5, which can in part be attributed to PATHS2 management remaining reasonably stable and robust through the ongoing period of transition.” During the review, it was estimated that PATHS2 contributed to saving a total of between 117,703 and 185,497 lives over the six years from 2008 and 2014 (using the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey and PATHS2 data respectively), according to the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) modelling software. Contact: COP Mike Egboh at m.egboh@paths2.org.
Ceiling Increases Galore
· The Private Health Sector Program in Ethiopia was awarded a one-year extension and provided with an additional $4.5M in PEPFAR funds, which brings the project ceiling to a total of $30M. During this sixth year of implementation, which extends through September 2015, the project team will work to consolidate partnerships between the public and private health sectors in Ethiopia to increase coverage with essential, quality HIV, TB, malaria, and family planning services. Contact: Acting COP Asfawesen Woldegiorgis, asfawesengy@phsp-et.com or jeffrey_barnes@abtassoc.com.
· On October 31 the Senegal Health Systems Strengthening project received a $4.7M increase to the total estimated award to implement direct financing (DF) of regional health teams. Since 2011, Abt has participated in the successful DF activity by coordinating monitoring and evaluation and strengthening regional financial management. USAID Senegal decided to consolidate the DF program requesting that Abt lead the effort for 2014-2016. According to USAID, Abt’s role as DF coordinator, as well as on overall health system strengthening (HSS) “makes it ideally suited to manage the entire DF portfolio. Abt’s increased responsibility in improving coordination will ensure that USAID’s investment in HSS produces improved health systems processes for a more efficient, sustainable, and high-performing health system.” The project’s total award for the cooperative agreement is $26.7M.Contact: COP francois_diop@abtsn.com or lisa_nichols@abtassoc.com.
· Abt recently signed a bridge agreement extending the work of the Jordan Health Systems Strengthening II Project for another year until September 2015. The project will continue to focus on safe motherhood, family planning, quality of care, human resources for health, and community health across the Kingdom. Contact COP sabry.hamza@hss.jo or mary.scott@abtassoc.com.
· USAID has issued a one-year $445,522 extension to the Georgia Health Systems Strengthening Project through September 2015. Through this extension, Abt will ensure the institutionalization within the Ministry of Labor Health and Social Affairs of the health management information system that has been developed, and will continue to document the result of the implementation of the universal health care program on health financing in Georgia. Contact: COP Alexander Turdziladze@hssp.org.ge or elizabeth_macgregor-skinner@abtassoc.com.
Malawi SSDI Project Gets High Marks from USAID
USAID/Malawi recently concluded its mid-term evaluation of the Abt-led Support for Service Delivery Integration – Systems (SSDI-Systems) project. This five-year, $10M project to support Malawi’s MOH provides targeted technical expertise to the MOH at national, zonal, and district levels to build capacity for policy development and implementation and to strengthen leadership and management capacity in support of planning, monitoring, supervision, and quality. The evaluation team commended the project for making “great strides towards achieving its targets.” Congratulations to the team! Contact: takondwa_mwase@abtassoc.com.
Your Feedback Incorporated into IHD Strategy FY15-16
We want to thank everyone who provided feedback on our draft IHD Strategy FY15-16 via email, our AGI workspace, and organized feedback sessions. We have incorporated your input and comments to finalize the slide deck which is now posted on AGI. We developed an accompanying operational plan to guide strategy implementation. The plan identifies responsible persons and sets timeframes and deadlines for key activities under each of six sub-strategies. We will review and report on progress in implementing the strategy on a quarterly basis. Contact: mark_mceuen@abtassoc.com.
Upcoming Conferences: Abstract Due Dates, Notification Dates, and Acceptances
If you plan to submit an abstract or have an abstract accepted, please notify Liz Nugent.
10th International Microinsurance Conference (November 11-13, Mexico City) – 2 abstracts accepted, 2 moderated sessions
APHA (November 15-19, 2014, New Orleans, LA) – 8 abstracts accepted
Global mHealth Forum (December 10-11, 2014, National Harbor, Maryland) – 5 abstracts accepted
14th World Congress on Public Health (February 11-15, 2015, Kolkata, India) – 2 abstracts and 1 symposium accepted
Global Health Mini-University (March 2, 2015, Washington, DC) – 3 abstracts submitted
Population Association of America (April 30-May 2, 2015, San Diego, CA) – 4 abstracts submitted
Welcomes, Goodbyes – A Sampling
Goodbye: David Elkins has joined a project with Abt JTA
Looking to Hire
The below positions are currently available in the U.S. All IHD openings can be found at: www.abtassociates.com/careers.
· Senior Technical Writer / Editor, Req 13424 – Posted 10/17/14
· Senior Analyst / Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation Specialist, SHOPS, Req 13263 – Posted 10/16/2014
· Finance & Contract Analyst, Req 12784 – Posted 10/16/2014
· Associate Finance & Contract Analyst, Req 12781 – Posted 10/16/2014
· Senior Analyst / Technical Coordinator, HFG, Req 9381 – Posted 10/16/14
SAVE THE DATE!
November 19 – IHD Quarterly Update
December 17 – IHD Global Staff Meeting
Sent to ALL IHD US & Field